====== 03. Ecology ======

Taken at face value, a dungeon housing over 1,000 monsters is going t0 need a food source other than "the titan just eats the elves." In all honesty, we don't expect this adventure to be run from beginning to end. While it has been designed to be just that -- the world's largest dungeon -- and it has a logical reason for being here, such an undertaking would break even the bravest DM and players. 

Therefore, it is our contention that lichen, dire rats, goblins, and dire boars make for an excellent food chain. In the lower levels of the Dungeon, goblins hunt the dire rats and eat them, and someone eats the goblins. Who? That's up to you. As for the higher levels of the Dungeon, drop in a farm of dire boars and you're all set. Like all pigs, they'll eat whatever slop you serve them, and chances are dire boars taste just as good as their real-world counterparts. 

If you need more explanation beyond that, here are a few "magical" answers to help quell your need for realism. 
  * Underground springs of water provide all manner of sustenance.
  * Time moves slowly here, so when most creatures do eat, it nourishes them longer.
  * Because of the presence of the celestials, no one needs to eat. That's why it's such a hospitable place for monsters: there is less competition over resources. 
  * Races trade with the fey. In exchange for not wiping them out, the nymphs and dryads provide edible lichen and other food. After all, if you ea a treant today, you'll be hungry tomorrow, and then what? 
  * At high enough levels, clerics can make food from nothing. Certainly a goblin shaman could summon a plate of grubs for his followers. 
  * The steam mephits provide magical sustenance to all who stand on the rocks of the Dungeon. (We don't know how that works, exactly.) 
  * Certain races, like the driders, are experimenting with creature crossbreeding. Maybe chaos beasts or free-range chuul are tasty. 
  * Cut the Dungeon into bite-size morsels and run it as separate lairs, each with its own passage to the outside.
  * Perhaps intelligent monsters are more nutritious...
